Hi Everyone,

Hope all is well. I have analysed the performance of 3 Online Media Companies – namely Mashable, ScoopWhoop and BuzzFeed to monitor and track their Social Media performance across Facebook. These pages are highly content driven and flourish on the engagement by their fans. Based on this, I have developed 3 findings that will potentially help such companies perform better and optimize their online presence. (Apologies to those who may not have got the reference to the barrage of listicles these days in the title…)

1. Introduction & Research Question

The rise and prominence of social media as well as social networking around the early 2000s, ushered in an era of Internet Media Companies such as Mashable in 2005 and BuzzFeed in 2006. ScoopWhoop joined the wagon slightly later only in 2013 with a regional focus on the Indian online community. These brands are built on providing social news and entertainment with a focus on Digital Media & Technology.

The Network Effect is in important factor in determining the long term success of such Digital Media Houses as there is power in numbers. The overall reach each page can garner thus, becomes critical for the brand. Taking this into consideration, the concentration of this paper and the research question being addressed is – “How can a Digital Media Company best stimulate community engagement and involvement?”

2. Potential Value of Research

There are certain unique aspects and features of Facebook as a Social Media platform that allow its users an added advantage over other niche platforms such as Instagram, YouTube or Twitter, allowing the three companies under analysis to leverage on these to maximize their reach by optimizing content strategies.

The findings of this paper will help each individual company determine the most suitable content strategy and what type of posts appeal the most to fans while invoking the most engagement. Further, the research shines light upon what are the ways in which such companies can maximize their engagement besides altering content strategies.

3. Data Collection

All data collected ranges from 1^st March to 28^th March, or 4 weeks worth. This was done primarily to maximize the comprehensiveness of findings and robustness of the data collected to smoothen out and capture any anomalies in the process.

The Appendix contains a detailed description and an in-depth analysis of statistics related to each company. These include – Social Media Platform architecture, Engagement Levels, Growth Levels, Number of Fans, Number of Posts, Likes, Comments and Shares per Post amongst other metrics that help identify and analyse the current situation.

4. Findings

All findings are backed up by data retrieved from Social Media Tracking and identifying key trends based on current performance of each individual brand. The same has been classified under the Appendix for easy reference to each finding.

The 3 primary findings revolve around the following metrics – (1). Type of Post (2). Time of Day and (3). Absolute Numbers and Frequency.

5. Conclusion & Recommendation

The company considered to develop a social media strategy for is ScoopWhoop. This is thanks to its unique positioning in the current Indian online community with a massive potential for growth.

Their current fan following on Facebook is around 2.2 million users. The total number of active Indian users as of late 2015 was approximately 125 million. ScoopWhoop leads the engagement levels across the three companies but has the lowest exposure. Hence, to boost overall following and expand ScoopWhoos Fan base, a Hashtag Campaign Strategy involving an online contest is recommended.

Using Strategy 3 Social Marketing to blur the lines between marketing and sales, ScoopWhoop can capitalize on its existing user base to generate greater exposure and awareness within the targeted market segment of Indian youngsters between the ages of 18-35. The contest involves leveraging on one of the brands existing mini TV Series known as Baked. Hence, the proposal for the #ScoopWhoopBakeOff Challenge.

The unique nature of this targeted campaign should help ScoopWhoop see tangible benefits including a boost in its Fan base while providing increased brand awareness and exposure within its target market.

Thanks & Good Luck to all for exams!

– Dorab Baria (G1)